iDon't Think It's Fair
by Oceanmistsupporter
Summary: "He sighs. What was Sam doing? Just because they're taking a break, doesn't mean she can go and date other guys!  He thought she said she loved him..." Three months after the break-up, and Sam's seemed to move on. But will Freddie allow it?
1. Chapter 1

(Freddie's POV)

Freddie opens the door of his own apartment and steps out into the hallway. He knocks on Carly's door although he knew it was open. He had nothing else to do, and he was secretly hoping to see someone else behind the door.

"It's open!" Carly calls.

Freddie steps inside, and he feels that thrill he gets when he sees the person he was hoping for. She lifts her head and smiles sweetly at him. "Hi Freddie."

"Hi Sam." He smiles back. Both her and Carly and splayed out across the floor, doing homework. Well, at least Carly was doing her homework. Sam was probably doodling or something. "Whatchu girls up to?"

"Studying." Carly responds. "For that test in English."

"Cool, cool." Freddie sits next to Sam and looks at the papers splayed in front of them. "Looks impossible."

"It always is, our teacher is awful." Sam says, sitting up. Her shoulder brushes Freddie's and he feels a bolt of...something. Sparks? Whatever it was, it couldn't be good.

He wonders how she's feeling after all of this. They're just juniors in high school. It's only been a few months since they broke up...

Was she just as torn up as he was?

Freddie never truly claimed anything as his own. He always had to share it. When he had a crush on Carly, he had to share her with 75% of the male population. He never really had anyone to his own.

So, he guesses he was entitled to say this: _She better be as torn up as I am. She's mine, God damn it. She's mine..._

He hears her phone go off. He glances over and sees that an unknown number has texted her. She lifts up her phone and reads it. Her eyes widen and she suddenly turns away from him, almost shielding her phone away from him.

"Something wrong?" He asks.

"N-Nothing." Sam splutters. She shakily sets her phone down.

Spencer walks down the stairs and says, "Hey guys,"

"Hey Spence." Carly sits up and turns to her brother.

"Hey." Freddie and Sam say at the same time.

"Hey, do any of you know this number?" Spencer lifts his phone and shows the three. Freddie didn't recognize it, and it wasn't the number who texted Sam.

"Never seen it." Carly says. "Why?"

"I keep getting some...weird texts from that number." Spencer admits. "I don't know where they're coming from."

"Let me read them." Carly tells him.

Spencer shows them one of the text. Freddie squints and reads the words:

_The future has designed for us to meet again. I'm super cereal._

"Maybe it's from an ex-girlfriend?" Sam says, looking up at Spencer.

"Maybe..." Spencer looks back at the text. "Well, I'm afraid to sleep tonight."

Freddie sees Sam, at the corner of his eye, typing something on her phone. "Don't worry about it, Spencer." Carly tells her brother. "It's probably just a prank."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Spencer walks to his bathroom. "I'll be in the shower."

"Wait, is the milk in there?" Carly snaps her head up.

"Nooooooo!" Spencer calls back.

"Yes, it is!" Carly rolls her eyes. "Oh, whatever!"

Freddie's own phone vibrates, and he sees that it is from a private number. He reads the text:

_Hey Freddie it's your mother. I need you to come home, okay?_

He almost laughs at loud. He glances halfway at Sam. Did she really think he was that stupid?

Yeah, probably.

Sam looks at him with such intensity, and he knows that she probably wants to tell Carly something. He stands up and says, "I gotta go. My mom needs me."

"Alright, see you later." Carly says. Freddie walks to the door, casting a confused glance as Sam before he leaves.

As soon as he clicks the door shut, he hears Sam gasp, "Oh my God, Carly, I need to tell you something!"

...

...Uhm...

...

He presses his ear to the door.

"What? Why didn't you tell me before?" He hears Carly say.

"Because Freddie was here. I just texted him that his mom needed him." He hears Sam say. Of course. He knew it.

"Okay, so what's the issue?" Carly asks.

"L-Look at this...!" Freddie knows she was probably showing the text.

"'Hey Sam, I think you're...'" Carly's voice fades out, and then she screams. "Oh my God! Zack sent that?"

"Yeah..." Sam says, almost warily. "What do I do?"

"What do you do? Zack just asked you out! You gotta go out with him, at least once!"

_No, no, she doesn't!_ Freddie wails on the inside.

"I know what you mean, but..." He can hear Sam sigh. "It's still so soon since...you know."

"You two broke up, Sam. That was months ago." Freddie feels his hands ball up into fists. What does Carly know? She has a new boyfriend every week! He almost wanted to storm in there and force her to shut her mouth, but that would ruin everything. "Zack just sent you a text asking you out. Come on! You have to take the offer."

"But..." Sam sounded unsure.

"Please?" Carly almost begs. "I want you to have a nice boyfriend, you know?"

_Come on, Sam, don't do it...! _Freddie has to bite down hard to force himself to not scream. _Just say-_

"Alright, I'll do it!" Sam snaps. "I'll regret it; I know it!"

"No, you won't! Sam, come on. Be more optimistic!" Carly says.

Freddie slumps against the wall, his mind suddenly becoming a jumbled mess. Who was Zack? Zack Harrington? Oh, he knew him. He was somewhat-friends with him!

This can't be happening...!

He sighs. What was Sam doing? Just because they're taking a break, doesn't mean she can go and date other guys!

He thought she said she loved him...


	2. Chapter 2

(Carly's POV)

"So?" Carly asks Sam eagerly. Her blonde friend was putting things into her locker, and she rolls her eyes. "Tell me! How was it?"

"It was...you know." Sam says, clearly faking a smile.

"Well? What happened?" Carly demands.

"We just went to a movie. That's it." Sam tells Carly.

"Did you two kiss?" Carly almost squeaks.

Sam glares at her. "No. Stop it with that!"

"But I can't help but be-" Carly began to say, but then she sees Zack walking toward them. "Oh my God, he's coming."

"Wait! Don't leave me alo-" Sam begins, reaching her hands out, but Carly is already zipping away and hides behind the corner, watching secretly.

"Hey Sam." Zack greets Sam with a smile.

Sam shies away, but she manages to smile back. "Hi Zack. Thanks again for, uh, you know."

"Anytime. Do you want to...you know...go out again sometime?" Zack asks, his turn for being a bit shy.

Carly continues to watch, her fingers tightening against the wall. She hears someone walk behind her. "Hey Carly." It was Freddie's voice, but she doesn't turn around. "What are you-" His voice breaks off when he realizes what was happening.

"Um..." Sam seemed to be searching for words. "Uh, okay."

Zack smirks at her and Sam gives some kind of embarrassed smile. He gently grips her waist and pulls her close, and of course, kisses her. Carly smiles for her friend and lets out an aww.

"You're..." Freddie trails off. Carly turns around and sees Freddie standing rigid. His brown eyes were round and his mouth was dropped open. Carly blinks. Why would this bother him? Shouldn't he be happy for his friend...

Oh.

She gets it now.

"Freddie-" Carly takes a step closer to him, trying to think of a way to comfort him somehow.

"I can't do this." He says hoarsely. He moves away from Carly, almost stumbling backwards, and walks/runs quickly to the door. He simply walks out, ignoring anyone who tried to get his attention.

Carly wants to run after him, but she didn't want to violate school rules by leaving the property. She just waits until Zack and Sam parted before she approaches Sam.

"Hey," Carly says, almost awkwardly.

"Hey." Sam says, keeping a complete poker face. "Something wrong?"

"Well, to be quite honest..." Carly glances towards the ground. "I just saw Freddie storm out the door."

"What?" Sam blinks. "Is he gone?" She approaches the door.

"Wait, don't leave." Carly grasps Sam's shoulder. "I'll handle it later. Just tell me what happened."

Sam won't meet Carly's eyes. "He says he wants to go out again."

"Well, what did you say?" Carly demands.

Sam glances at the floor. "I said we could."

"He really likes you, Sam." Carly tells her gently. "I'm really happy for you."

Suddenly, Sam goes rigid. "Wait. You said Freddie stormed out the door." Her blue eyes widen until Carly was certain they were about to pop out of her head. "Oh, he didn't see, did he...!"

"No, he arrived after that." Carly lies. She'll tell her later. Sam needed some time. And she could deal with this herself. "Come on. Just get to class."

Sam looks terrified and hushed, but she drops her head. "Yeah. Yeah, okay." She walks away.

(Spencer's POV)

_A week later:_

Spencer hears his door open. Almost out of habit, he screams out, "Let me guess: Freddie and Sam are with you!"

"No, actually." Carly says. She walks into the apartment and puts her bookbag on the couch. "Just Gibby."

"Yes, and that's much better." Spencer scoffs. He brushes his hand against his hair. Oh God, was it falling out?

"You look stressed." Gibby observes.

"Yeah, a little bit." Spencer admits. "I keep getting texts from an unknown person."

"Still?" Carly asks. "Maybe you should call the cops."

"It's not like their actual threats." Spencer says warily. "He just keeps saying that we're going to meet, and he keeps mentioning something about how he needs to fix something."

Gibby's eyes widen. "Oh my God..." he whispers.

"What's wrong?" Carly asks.

"I'm getting texts like that!" Gibby shuffles for his phone and shows Spencer the text. Sure enough, it was from the same number. And it said:

_We seriously have to meet again. As long as we don't meet in California._

"It's the same number!" Spencer splutters. "Oh my God!"

"Hey, guys, can I talk to you two about something?" Carly asks warily.

"What's wrong?" Spencer asks, still freaked out by the new discovery.

"Have you seen Freddie this past week?" Carly asks.

"No, I haven't. I hardly have seen Sam either." Spencer says. He begins comparing the texts from both his phone and Gibby's.

"Well, Sam's out with her new boyfriend." Carly tells him. "But Freddie's just been in his apartment. He's hardly come to school, and every time he does, he winds up ditching before the day's over."

Spencer almost freezes and looks at Carly.

"What?" Carly asks.

"Don't you get it?" Spencer says simply.

"No..." Carly looked confused.

"Sam and Freddie broke up." Spencer says, his voice almost becoming a baby voice. "Sam has a new boyfriend. And now Freddie refuses to leave his apartment." He pauses, hoping Carly will get it, but she just has a blank expression. "Duh!"

"I still don't get it." Carly says, sounding flustered. "How does this help?"

"Oh, forget it." Spencer pulls away.

"Oh, he texted me again!" Gibby gasps. Spencer huddles around and gets a glimpse at the text:

_Tell me the location of Mrs. Benson._

"Mrs. Benson?" Spencer echoes. "Freddie's mom?"

"Why does he want to know where Mrs. Benson is?" Carly asks, her eyes widening.

"I don't know!" Gibby says. "This is starting to get weird."

Carly sits down on the couch, resting her chin on her palm. She looked distant and worried. "I don't know what to do." She says hopelessly. "Freddie seems really upset."

"Try to lure him over here." Spencer says simply. "How hard can it be?"

(Carly's POV)

She decided to take Spencer's words and put them into action. She wouldn't call herself nosy, well no one would call themselves nosy, but she needed to know what the big issue was.

She knocks on Freddie's door.

"Who's there?" Came Freddie's voice.

"It's Carly." She responds. "Come over, okay?"

"Uhm...I'm sick." He replies without opening the door.

"Please? It'll only take a moment." Carly promises.

"I'd rather not." He admits.

"Please?" Carly half-begs. "This is really important."

Finally, Freddie opens the door. Carly knew he was lying about being sick, but he looked sick in a different way. His hair was uncared-for and messed up. His eyes were round and hollow. He gives Carly an exasperated look. "What do you want?"

"Is something wrong?" Carly asks sweetly.

He's already closing the door.

"Wait, no! Stop!" Carly grips the door to keep it open. "We need to talk."

"Why?" He whines.

"Something is troubling you." Carly says, putting it out there quickly. "What is it?"

Freddie looks like he wants to argue more, but nothing was coming out of his mouth. He rolls his eyes then says, "Don't play stupid. You know."

"No, I don't." Carly says, folding her arms over her chest.

"Yes, you do. Why are you making me say it?" Freddie hisses.

"Just tell me!" Carly begs.

Freddie looks ready to burst. "It's just...that Zack guy."

"What about him?"

"As if you don't know. It's just, he..." Freddie grips the door, and then lets go. "He..."

"Oh my God," Carly whispers.

"Don't say it." Freddie warns.

"You..." Carly's voice rises to a shriek. "You're upset because he's with Sam!"

Freddie sighs, causing his ungroomed hair to flutter. "Do you blame me?"

"Freddie, you and Sam broke up a few months ago." Carly says gently. "You really haven't moved on?"

"We agreed"-Freddie's eyes flare up and he begins to look angry-"that we still loved each other. I thought we were just taking a break. She betrayed me!"

"She didn't!" Carly protests. "And this entire time, she seems kind of shaky on the whole Zack thing!" She takes a deep breath and says, "If you wanted Sam back, then why didn't you step up before?"

"Because, I-" Freddie cuts himself off and he looks defeated. "I didn't want to try anything and just find out that she wants to stay friends. The whole break-up thing hurt enough. And now this whole thing with Zack happened, and I...I..." He glances downward, then looks up and meets Carly's eyes. "I miss her."

**(A/N: This is where a "aww" track would cut in. Awwwww.)**

"Okay, Freddie." Carly claps her hands together and tries to execute this in an organized matter. "You had plenty of time to realize this. But now Zack has Sam. If you really loved her you would be happy for her!"

Freddie just stops and remains silent. His mouth is slightly open and his mind is trying to process all of this. He looks hopeless and confused. "Y-You're right." Freddie swallows. "I should just forget about her, shouldn't I?"

Carly stares at her friend for a while. "Will you be okay?"

"No, I won't be. I feel like I got hit by a truck." Freddie says wirily. "No matter. You're completely right. Doesn't mean I'm happy about it."

Carly is silent. Finally she says, "I'm sorry."

"It's fine." Freddie steps inside his apartment and shuts the door without saying goodbye.

Carly was bothered by Freddie's sadness, but she knew she was right. He had to get over Sam. Carly's gotten over so many guys. Freddie managed to get over Carly herself. He could easily do the same with Sam.

Well, that's what she thought.

Until on Saturday morning, she was rewarded with a text from Freddie that said:

_I quit iCarly._


	3. Chapter 3

(Carly's POV)

Carly's jaw drops in shock. "What?" She screams out loud. This is ridiculous! Freddie's just being difficult again. He's tried to quit iCarly _twice._

"What is wrong with that boy?" Carly hisses. She storms down the stairs, and barges out the door. She slams on his door. "Freddie! Open up!"

The door opens, and it's Ms. Benson. "Carly, will you hush? What is wrong with you?"

"Is Freddie home?" Carly asks, trying to hang on to the last threads of civility for as long as possible.

"No, he's out. He's not always home just for you, you know." Ms. Benson hisses.

_What's she talking about?_ "Tell me when he gets home." Carly says, turning away.

"I'll think about it." Ms. Benson snaps.

Carly slips back inside her own apartment. Oh God. She checks the clock, and its 11 a.m. She needs to call Sam to tell her. What if Freddie hides for the rest of the day? That's probably what he'll do. In that way, Freddie's not that hard to predict.

She sees Spencer walk down the stairs. Perhaps he could help. Spencer doesn't have any superior knowledge of cameras or video recording, but maybe a simple one would work.

"Spencer! I need help!" Carly says to her brother.

"With?" Spencer stops and looks at her. "Wait, do you need money?"

"No…?"

"Go on, then."

"Freddie quit iCarly. And I don't know where he is right now. So, just for tonight, can you be the camera man for iCarly?" Carly asks.

"Actually…" Spencer glances at his shoes. "Me and Socko were going to hunt down the guy who keeps texting me. We think we have a way to track his location."

"Can't you do that tomorrow?" Carly begs. "This is really important."

"Why did Freddie quit anyway?" Spencer asks.

"We aren't sure yet. It might be because we fell out yesterday. But it got resolved…" Carly trails off. "You really won't help us?"

"Why don't you ask that intern of yours?" Spencer suggests, walking off. "What's his name? Bryan?"

"Brad," Carly corrects. "And wait, that's brilliant! Thanks!"

"Of course. But hey, until tonight…" Spencer begins.

Carly blinks. "What?"

"Don't tell Sam about Freddie yet." A knowing glint in Spencer's dark eyes appeared. Carly tilts her head to one side. Spencer always seemed a step ahead of everyone. But he never explained it.

(Spencer's POV)

_Hours Later._

"We're bringing him down." Spencer says, spreading two streaks of black paint over both of his cheeks. "You sure this is accurate?"

"Completely full-proof." Socko confirms. He holds up some kind of tracking device. "It's like a GPS, but it follows phone numbers. Or something like that."

"It better work." Spencer mutters, slipping on gloves that ended at the fingers. "I'm ready to end this."

"Come on, then." The two friends slip out of the apartment into the night air. Socko checks the tracker again. "We're going to need to drive out. It's about six miles away."

"Joy. Wanna use my motorcycle?" Spencer offers.

"That works. Southwest," He says, checking the tracker again. "Let's hit it."

The two head out under the starlight. "It's only seven," Spencer says warily. "It will get darker. Are you sure we'll find him?"

"It'll be fine." Socko promises.

They drive six miles southwest, and then Spencer sees the building. The sight of it strikes a memory, and his eyebrows rise.

"We're getting close." Socko says. He looks up and sees the building as well. Although he wasn't part of the memory, he gives a little chuckle. "Troubled Waters. Home of the loonies."

"You have no idea," Spencer says drily. "Remember Gary? I saw him there."

"It's about time they locked that guy up." Socko says, smirking. Then he stops, his eyes widening. "You don't think Gary could be the texter, do you?"

"Could be. Hopefully so. Then it would make finding him easier." Spencer says.

Suddenly, the tracker begins to make an awful sound. Socko looks at it with furrowed eyebrows, and tries to figure it out. "What's wrong with it? Did it lose signal?" Spencer asks.

"I don't know, it's not—" Suddenly, the tracker shuts off. Socko shakes it repeatedly, but it will not turn back on. "I don't know what's wrong!"

Spencer grits his teeth. "Damn! We were so close!"

Then, almost foreseen, Spencer's phone vibrates. Without breathing, he slowly pulls it out and reads the text:

_Nice try._

(Sam's POV)

"So, you have to do iCarly soon?" Zack's voice slices through her thoughts. She looks up and nods.

"Y-Yeah. We do, you know, very Saturday." She's just tripping over her words, isn't she?

"Well, this has been fun." Zack smiles at her. Sam looks at the floor, smiling herself. Sam's always been one of those people who flinch away from things like these. Gushy emotion, she thinks. Funny thing is, she never did when she was with—

"Well, I'm gonna be late." Sam says briskly. "Thank you, again."

Zack holds her hand as he walks her to his car. "You gotta let me see iCarly someday." He says. "I'd be quiet. I've been watching your show for the longest time."

"I doubt Carly would approve, since my ex-boyfriend was so obnoxious that one time." Sam says, rolling her eyes, thinking of Jonah. "Carly has to approve of _everything._"

Of course, Carly was good with Zack. She'd let him. But for some reason, the idea of him and Freddie in the same room…

"Maybe we could hang out later?" Sam suggests. She enjoyed Zack's company very much, just like anyone would, but why was she picturing someone else when she thought of Zack? More like wanting someone else…

She knows asking herself questions won't help, but what can she do?

Zack smiles at her. Sam knows what'll happen next. That's okay, though. She thinks. He leans in and kisses her, and she goes along with it. There was nothing wrong with Zack; nothing at all. So then why was she reluctant? At any other time, she would be thrilled to have a guy like Zack. So why…?

He drives her to Bushwell Plaza. "See you later." Zack says.

"Text me." Sam grins as she slips out of the car and into the building. She makes her way up to the Shay Loft and walks inside. She was about to use the elevator until she realizes what happened the last time she was in an elevator. She just goes up the stairs instead. She hasn't used an elevator since…

"I'm here, I'm not late." Sam says as she walks into the iCarly studio.

"We only have two minutes before we go." Carly says roughly.

Sam looks around. Freddie was nowhere to be seen. She saw Brad, and she guesses that's good, she thinks. But where was Freddie? Now that she thinks about it, where _has_ Freddie been this past week? She hasn't even seen him at school. Where is he?

"Where's Freddie?" Sam asks, looking around.

"He…um, I'll tell you later." Carly says, exchanging a glance with Brad.

"Fifty seconds," Brad tells them.

"Wait, no. Tell me now." Sam says to Carly.

"Come on. Just tell me, really quick." Sam begs.

"I promise, I will tell you later. We need to do the show!" Carly says, looking urgent.

"Three, two, one!" Sam barely heard Brad now.

"Hi, I'm—" Carly begins.

"Just _wait_!" Sam hisses at her friend. She does a cutting motion to her neck to Brad for him to shut off the camera. He just stands with wide brown eyes, not knowing what to do.

"Sam, this can wait!" Carly says quickly.

"No, it can't! Where's Freddie?" Sam snaps. "Just _tell me_!"

Carly looks at Brad for help.

"Quit looking at him! He's not going to help you. Now just tell me, and get it over with!" Sam feels her throat swell over, as if she was about to cry. She wasn't, of course, but someone here is going to get royally fizzbined if she didn't get answers, stat.

"He quit, Sam!" Carly says loudly, breaking through Sam's words.

Sam stares at Carly for a while. "What? Why?"

"I don't know, and I'm worried too. But we will figure this out later. So please calm down." Carly tries to ration with her.

As if she could calm down now. "So, you're telling me…" Sam begins, her voice rising in anger. "That Freddie quit, and you aren't even going to help him out?"

"I didn't say that! I've been looking for him all day! But I couldn't find him!" Carly says, almost desperately. "We will look for him after this."

"No, forget this!" Sam hisses out. Her head swings around and sees Brad, standing all awkward, still holding the camera, looking hopeless and confused. The camera was still on, and all of this was being broadcasted. To everyone in the world.

She storms out of the apartment, ignoring Carly calling after her. If she had told her sooner, she would have found Freddie already. Just forget it. She didn't need Carly's help. She could find Freddie herself.


	4. Chapter 4

(Carly's POV)

There was little Carly could do once Sam had stormed out of the room. She swings her head to Brad and says to the camera, "I know you're listening, Freddie. Meet me in my apartment. Sam's probably half-way to the moon searching for you."

She swallows her fury at what was happening and forces out, "Just do it. This ends now."

She shuts off the camera and removes it out of Brad's arms, then places it on the table. Brad nervously rubs the back of his neck. "D-Does that usually happen?" He stutters.

"No, Brad, and I'm sorry. I-I have to deal with this." She goes downstairs and waits in her living room. She sees Spencer folding his arms, looking furious, on the couch.

"Did you find the guy?" Carly asks.

"No." Spencer growls back. He buries his head in his hands. "So we picked up some food and rage-ate for the rest of the day."

"Yes, because that's the best way to deal with distress." Carly says sarcastically. "Look, Freddie should be here any minute. So can you go upstairs for a minute?"

"…sure." Spencer just shrugs. "Got nothing better to do." He sits up and walks up the stairs.

Carly waits and waits and waits. _He won't come._ She thinks angrily. _He won't come._ She begins to pace. _He won't—_

"Brad, is Sam still in there?" Carly could hear Freddie's voice. She bolts to the door and nearly collapses against it, standing on her tip-toes to get a look through the peephole. Freddie was standing nervously beside the door, with Brad beside him.

"No, she took off. What is the matter?" Brad asks Freddie. "Obviously something."

"It's…really hard to explain." Freddie looks tense, like a cord that was about to break. "Too hard to explain."

"Come on. Really quick," Brad begs.

"I kind of like someone." Freddie shrugs. "It's not a big deal."

"You missed iCarly due to it." Brad says, exasperated. "Must be some kind of difficulty."

"Okay, well it is." Freddie says blankly. "I guess."

Brad's brown eyes widen as he looks at Freddie, then at the Shay door, then at Freddie again. "Is it one of the girls? On iCarly?"

Freddie doesn't respond as he barges past his friend and opens Carly's door. She hops away and crosses her arms over her chest, looking angry.

Freddie freezes as he closes the door, and forces a smile. "…Hey!"

"Talk!" Carly snarls.

"Look, I know you're—"

"You ruined this week's iCarly! You have me and Sam worried out of our minds…" Carly's eyes narrowed. "You keep having this weird expression as if you were…" She remembers Brad's words. "Oh my God…" She murmurs, and then her voice rises. "Are you in love?"

Freddie's expression only summed up one word: _Salty._

"Um, no." Freddie tries his best to not meet Carly's eyes as he passes by her.

"You are, aren't you?" Now the grin was breaking through.

"Ummm…" Freddie looked like he was trying to find a way to get out of this. "Remember my curfew? I need to be home—"

"No!" Carly stands between him and the door. "We're going to talk about this!"

Freddie groans, and then tries for the door again. "Can we just…not talk about this?"

"No, we can't not just talk about it." Carly narrows her eyes. Why was he avoiding this? It isn't that big of a deal.

"But—"

"Are you in love?" Carly repeats slowly, carefully.

Freddie looks for a distraction. Any distraction. He walks over to the food Spencer brought back. "Sooo…what's in this chicken pot pie?" He nervously laughs. "I mean, I know there's chicken obviously, but what other—"

"Are you in love or not?" Carly spits out, her annoyance getting to her.

Freddie still won't meet her eyes. Finally, he sighs, and looks up with a piercing gaze. "Yes."

Carly's mind races to wonder who it is. Not Sam surely, because Freddie said he'd get over her for the sake of her happiness. And if Brad said that it was one of the two…

The thought gives her feelings of exasperation and pity. How much longer was this going to happen?

"But you promised." Carly half-whines. "You said you wouldn't fall in love with me as long as—"

Turns out Freddie has the same exasperation. He almost scowls as he says, "I didn't say I was in love with you."

Oh. Well, guess who feels like a dumbass?

"Then who are you in love with?" Carly asks him. "You have to tell me!"

Freddie stares at Carly for a while, thinking. "Spencer said it would take a lot of convincing."

"What would? And what's with all these puzzles?" Carly snaps.

"Look, where is Sam anyway?" Freddie asks, pacing.

"She went to look for you." Carly says. "Now please. You need to tell me who you're in love with!"

"Well, I have to find Sam now. I…I'll tell you later, I guess." He begins to walk to the door.

"So that's it?" Carly growls. "You're just not going to tell me?"

Freddie hesitates before leaving, looking at Carly with tortured dark eyes. "You'd…You'd never understand." He mutters as he stalks out the door, shutting it behind him.

(Freddie's POV)

He feels the cold wind hitting his back as he tumbles outside. The late fall air swirls around him with such bitterness that he could feel all the way to the tips of his fingers. He wonders where Sam was; maybe she was still looking for him. He wasn't sure.

He goes over to places that maybe Sam would expect to see him at. He checks Ridgeway. No sign of her. He checks by her own house. She wasn't there either. He tries the Groovy Smoothie.

He sees the blonde inside. She wasn't the only one there; the place was still open, and there was a decent crowd. He watches as Sam searches around, her eyes round.

He steps in, and considers what he will say. Surely this is the time to tell her…? Right…?

He takes a step forward, but recoils as he recognizes Zack walk up to Sam. "Hi." He says in that bright, uplifting voice that is impossible to hate. "Are you okay?"

"Not really…" She admits. "I-I'm looking for a friend."

"Who?" He asks, blinking innocently.

"It's nothing. He'll turn up eventually." Freddie ducks behind a table, listening, ignoring the weirded out comments from the people sitting at the table. "He always does." Sam goes on. "I'll see you later?"

"Actually, I was wondering…" Zack smiles. "Immortals came out, not too long ago. Do you want to see it next Friday?"

Freddie grips the table.

"Sounds cool." Sam looks hesitant. "I'm sorry, but I need to go. I-I need to find my friend."

"Wait, before you go…" Zack looks almost shy. "I need to know."

"What?"

"So, are we…" The baige-haired guy gropes for words. "…like, together?"

Sam blinks, and doesn't seem to know how to reply. She says, "…I'm not so good at telling these things." She says hastily.

That's just it, then. Freddie knew that this is one of Sam's only weaknesses. Relationships. Rejection. They're a wear-n-tear on almost anyone, but Sam, tough Sam, was exposed when it came to these things.

That's when it happens, again. Right in front of Freddie for the second time. He kisses her, and Freddie expects to feel that old familiar jealously. You know. The jealously he used to get when he would watch some guy salivate over Carly. No, this is different.

The jealously he used to get was an annoyance, often followed with bitter thoughts like, "Carly would never like that loser anyway". But then he'd get sad when she'd date him because that's all Carly seems to do.

No. This was far different. This is some kind of fire, a fire already started, built off of cold rejections and heartbreak. He guesses the big breakup made the bomb. And this…was lighting the fuse. This is it.

He was unable to see clearly. A pulsing red haze has appeared behind his eyes. He stumbles backward, and out the door. And waits for his prey to wander by.

(Sam's POV)

She pulls away from Zack, smiling and telling him she'll see him later, and then gets back to business. She leaves the Groovy Smoothie and decides she might as well try his house again. God, where could the boy be? He can't hide forever.

She's starting to get a little bitter about the whole situation. Why was Freddie running, anyway? She remembers how she nearly threatened to kill him back when iCarly first started in 7th grade, but she'd never do that now. Doesn't he know that he's one of the closest people to her?

She still tastes ashes when she thinks of the big breakup…

Is that why he won't talk to her about quitting iCarly? Just because they weren't together anymore, it doesn't mean that she wasn't there for him. Sure, she feels awkward when she's around him, because she still remembers… But still.

Tense, she pulls out the fried chicken in her purse and begins to distract herself by eating it. Oh well. All it takes is meat.

She finally sees the boy up ahead, near the Groovy Smoothie, and calls his name. "Freddie! Freddie, wait up!"

He whips his head around, fixing her with an icy gaze. "Oh. You found me."

"Where have you been?" Sam hisses. She wants to collapse with relief that he is okay. "You had me worried!"

"You didn't seem too worried." Freddie narrows his eyes.

"Of course I was! You pretty much disappeared without a trace!" Sam's voice lowers at the end. "Why did you skip iCarly?"

"I didn't skip." He replies easily. "I quit."

"Same thing! Now tell me why." Sam tells him.

He leans against the brick wall of some building. "Why?"

"Why? Because I'll beat you to death, that's why!" Sam grits her teeth. This wasn't the approach she was hoping to use, but Freddie wasn't cooperating.

Freddie eyes Sam. "Look. We're juniors. I need some time away from the show."

Sam stares at him. "You're really going to abandon us?"

"You have Brad."

"You don't get it! You've been a part of iCarly since we were in 7th grade. You're really just going to ditch?" Sam questions.

"I guess so." Freddie says back.

"You know," Sam was forcing the words out of her mouth now. "I never got over the fact that we broke up. I can't believe you're really going to do this."

"Oh, _sure._" Freddie sneers. "You've clearly gotten over it." He gestures back to the Groovy Smoothie. "You just proved it!"

"What? Zack?" Sam's eyes widen. "He's—"

"You're boyfriend, I know. I get it." Freddie grits his teeth. "You could have told me that we were free to date other people. I was always holding onto the fact that we'd get back together." He shrugs. "I still probably wouldn't have dated anyone, anyway."

Sam freezes, feeling the wind whistle through her.

"So it's just whatever then. It doesn't matter anymore." Freddie stares at her, his eyes hard. "It's over now. You're right. Goodbye." He begins to stalk away, and says without turning around, "Tell Carly and Brad that I'm sorry I quit, but it had to be done."

And like that, he was gone.

Sam balls her hands into fists and stalks away, towards her house. She bites into the chicken again, but there was no desire to eat anymore.

And think about it…

That's saying something for Sam.


	5. Chapter 5

**(A/N: This is the answer to****irishfan62's question about whether or not Carly knows that Freddie still wants Sam, due to the fact that I seem to be going back and forth on it. Well, she doesn't know. She did, but after telling Freddie that Sam would be happy without him, in perfect Carly world, he immediately gets over her. Since she can "love" and then get over a guy in a thirty-minute episode time span. Sorry, but I can imagine Carly being ignorant enough to believe this. So now, due to the fact that Freddie is "over" Sam, Sam is the last possible answer to Freddie's affections.**

**Sorry, but I hate Carly to no extent. I could totally imagine the stupid mary-sue doing this in the show. And they follow her advice ALL THE TIME. Why? Why? BECAUSE SHE'S PERFECT.**

**Just sayin'.**

**P.S.: I got into a fight with someone on a forum once about whether or not Carly is a Mary-sue or not. She claims that one of Carly's flaws is that she has small boobs. And I was like "BRO U SERIOUS"? She was. That isn't a flaw! That's a PHYSICAL IMPERFECTION. And it's never pointed out by anyone in the show. In fact, Freddie COMPLIMENTED her curves in season 2! That's not a flaw…)**

(Unknown POV)

Silly little people.

The man chuckles as he reads the desperate returned texts.

Most of them were along the lines of _"Who are you?" _and _"I will find you if you don't tell me who you are!"_

Well, if he told them, then that would ruin the fun, wouldn't it?

He decides to text the big, loud one next. He sends the text: _"All will come in good time, wise one. Now please tell me the location of Mrs. Benson."_

He sits back and thinks. Was it really that hard to tell him to location of her? He could do well with Mr. Benson too, but this was mostly her problem.

He clicks on the TV and begins to daydream. He can't wait to go home. He can't wait to see all his friends again so they can hang. And show off their pants.

He decides he isn't feeling too hot so he spreads some glop on his chest to help him breathe better. Counter clockwise, though. Or his chest hair will mat.

He thinks of his mission once again. If he fails…then mankind is doomed. Period.

He needs to find the calm girl with the sleek dark hair and eyes. The feisty girl with the wavy blonde curls and the blue eyes. The boy with the short, dark hair and eyes. The big, loud one. The thick, weird one with pale blonde hair. And there are the others to look out for. The muzzy boy with eyes the color of fudge. The sleek redhead ginger whose mouth never closes. All of them. They are all connected somehow.

He goes onto his phone and clicks on the picture of both the feisty blonde and the dark-haired boy. These were the two he was after. How could they be so ignorant? If they weren't, then he wouldn't be here.

Oh well. He was having fun on the way, wasn't he? As he reflects on it, he guesses that is all that matters.

(Spencer's POV)

"Look, I know I've called you before." Spencer says, feeling an edge of desperation creep into his voice. "But the guy texted me _again!_ Like, two minutes ago!"

"We understand your concern." The man on the other line of the 911 line says in his matter-of-fact voice. "But how can you be sure that this isn't just a prank from one of your friends?"

"Sir, I'll read you the text again! It says: _'All will come in good time, wise one. Now please tell me the location of Mrs. Benson.'_ That's just too precise!" Spencer says into the phone.

"Do you even know who Mrs. Benson is?" The 911 guy says.

"She's my next door neighbor, but I don't understand what—" Spencer pauses. "Oh, you hung up." He slams the phone on the table, and picks up a rag and screams into it.

Carly walks down the stairs. Her hair is wet and she's drying it with a towel. "What's wrong now?"

"Even the cops won't help me with this!" Spencer moans.

Carly continues to dry her hair. "Maybe it is just a friend."

"I'm telling you Carly, this is getting too weird." Spencer looks at the clock on his phone. "It's been four hours. How long can you stand sitting in a shower, anyway?"

"Quite long." Carly smirks as she runs her fingers through her hair. "And anyway, why don't you just block the number?"

"I feel like if I do, I'll miss something." Spencer winces. "Like, something bad might happen."

"Nothing is gonna happen!" Carly reassures.

Spencer thinks for a moment. And then finally it hits him. "I have an idea." He says, quickly running up the stairs. Before he reaches the top, he trips and falls, effectively bruising his kneecap. He scrambles to his feet and manages to get to the room.

Even though he said it before, he's super cereal this time: This ends now.

(Carly's POV)

Carly applies a thin coat of eyeliner and mascara, and lets her hair air-dry. She considers going out and looking for Freddie again, but she imagines that Sam is still on the boy's trail. She hasn't found him yet; if she did, she would have told her.

She ponders again on who Freddie was in love with. It surely wasn't herself; he told her that. It wasn't Sam; it _couldn't_ be Sam. Freddie was always a very decent guy. He would let go of her if he knew he needed to, and he did. So who could it be?

She tries thinking of people at school. Wendy? She was nice enough and may have had a slight liking to him, but nothing major. Hmm. Patrice? She lived in Bushwell Plaza. She asked him on a date but left early with Gibby. Nah, not her. The only way he'd have a chance was if he found a vampire and asked him to bite him.

Who could it be?

A few seconds later, the man in question storms in. Carly whirls around and sees Freddie standing rigid beside the door. His hair is just as damp but she doubts he has been taking a four hour long shower. Due to his rain-splashed jacket, he must have been out in the rain.

Freddie trains his dark eyes on her, and he sees that they are red and splotchy from…crying? Why is he crying?

"Well," He begins rustily. "Hello there."

"Freddie, come on!" Carly half-wails. "What is happening? Why are you crying?"

"I'll explain." Freddie says. He grins, and it's almost a little disturbing. Through the tears and the splotchy eyes, there was a layer of…something she couldn't describe. Not love or anything like that. Almost like madness. Crazed.

"Please do." Carly says warily.

"Well," Freddie waltzes closer to her and Carly almost flinches away. "I am in love with someone, like I said before. But you didn't guess who."

"I know." Carly says, a little louder. "So who is it?"

Freddie whirls around, narrowing his eyes. "You really don't know?"

"No, come on, Freddie. Just say it!" Carly snaps.

Freddie slowly shuffles in his wallet, and pulls out a picture. Almost in slow-motion, he steps forward and hands it to her.

Carly lifts the picture up to her face and sees the blonde-haired, blue eyed girl staring back at her. She opens her mouth to say something but Freddie cuts her off.

"No. Listen first. Look, you really screwed me over with your little pep-talk. And I guess I tried to forget about her. But it's not that easy, at least not for me. I couldn't do it." Freddie grins again, and it chills Carly to her bones. "So now, you're going to help me."

"Help you with what?" Carly asks. "What can I do in this?"

"Just hear me out." Freddie says. "Look, I know she's with Zack or whatever, but we're going to change that."

"Change it?" Carly echoes.

"Come on. It's only been a few weeks. We could easily do something." Freddie tells her.

"Okay, wait. For a second, let's put away the fact that you still want Sam. Think. You and I, we're still her friends. You would really want to ruin her happiness."

Freddie looks at for a moment, and then looks at the ground. A few seconds later, he looks back at Carly and says, "Yep."

**(A/N: Cue laugh track.)**

"I don't think its right…" Carly says softly.

"Well, I'm not going to sit by and let this happen. Are you going to help me or not?" Freddie rounds on Carly, staring at her intensely.

Carly considers this, thinking hard. It wasn't right… It wasn't right…

"I'll do it." Carly mutters.

**(A/N: Before you start the hypocrite rant of "OMG you JUST said that you think Carly is a Mary-sue and that you hate it when they run to her for advice!"…**

** Well, I DO hate her and the fact that they do that.**

** I'm just trying to keep them in character.**

** Also, if you think that Freddie is being OOC here, here's why I made him act like this:**

** I am somewhat calm and manage to fit in with normal society [despite the OCD]. But when there's someone I REALLY care about and he's slipping out of my fingers, I will go medieval and murder anyone standing in my way. Everyone turns into possessive monsters when it comes to the person they love [in my case, like]. I could easily see Freddie getting swallowed by this system.**

** Let's just hope he goes easy on them~) **


	6. Chapter 6

(Sam's POV)

Sam is what she considers, an average girl with average wants and desires. Every girl has wanted to be Chuck Norris. Well, that's what she thinks. So, instead of sleeping that night, she does what Chuck Norris would do. She doesn't sleep. She waits.

She's already sent Freddie eight texts that night. Calling him countless times. But his phone was off, and he hasn't responded to a single one. She knew she should try to find him again, but now her own bitterness was replacing her guilt.

Why did he tell her off like that? What, did he really think that she wasn't still upset about their break-up? What, did he not get it? She grips her phone hard and finally her anger gives in. She throws it against the wall, knowing it didn't break, but wishing it did. Then she could hope that maybe he did text back, but she couldn't receive it.

Frustrated, she begins to pace around her room. Watching the clock go from two in the morning to three and then to four and on and on. There was no need for sleeping; she couldn't sleep a wink if she tried. That's just how it is.

She can still hear Freddie's voice in her head. She told him that she never got over their break-up…but he didn't believe her. She wouldn't say she was _seeing_ Zack, but they were obviously closer than "just friends".

No. No no no. Sam made a mistake being with Zack. Some inside voice was telling her that it was wrong. She knew it; she really did. Everytime she was with Zack, she couldn't help but wish someone else was beside her.

But no, he couldn't be. Because he just made it bluntly obvious that he hated her now. Well, ain't that dandy. She grips the bed sheets and pulls and pulls until they make a satisfying ripping sound. She grits her teeth hard, jarring her skull. Bitter tears manage to force through her eyes, not exactly out of sadness, more out of fury. She wants to kill something. Anything. Or anyone.

She hears the door open, and her head snaps up. She hears her mum's hacking and she rolls her eyes and decides that she might as well talk to her. What else can she do?

She walks out of her room, then down the hall, and sees her mum in the kitchen.

"Drunk?" Sam asks immediately. She has to ask that so she'll know whether or not her mum was up for talking.

"Pfft, naw." Her mum replies. "Shitty night. How about you?"

"Can say the same." Sam shrugs. "Well, you go first."

"Too long of a story. Involves some minor felonies. Expect to see the cops here tomorrow." Her mum shrugs. "Well, come on now. What's your problem, kid?"

"Hard to explain." Sam wipes away the tears from her eyes. The only light on in the house was the moonlight flitting through the windows, so maybe the tears weren't seen. She didn't know.

"Well, here." Her mum bends down and pulls a bottle out of the cabinet. Sam watches as the moonlight catches on the bottle of liquor, and sees her mum take out two glasses. "What does it matter? It's not as if you're leaving or anything. Might as well have a bit of fun."

She hands Sam a full glass, and Sam lifts it up. "To dumbass guys." She says, sipping the poison. For a logical reason, the song _Helena Beat_ pops in Sam's head.

"Dumbass guys, eh?" Her mum says, taking her own sip. "Let's hear it. Are you pregnant? Because the coat hanger's in the closet."

"Mum—" Sam begins.

Her mum's blue eyes glare at her. "Did I fucking stutter?"

"No, I'm not pregnant." Sam rolls her eyes.

"STDs?"

"My God, Mum, no!" Sam snaps. "I'm clean. For the most part."

"Then what's the issue?" Her mum finishes off her glass.

"Well, I dated this one guy…" Sam says. She never told her mum about Freddie, or any of her dates, mostly to protect them. She could only imagine what her mum would say to them. In her mind, she imagines her mum saying, _You get my daughter pregnant, you can take care of him or her. I ain't raising no babies._ "But it didn't work out. You know? So I guess I'm seeing someone else…but I don't know if it's the right choice."

Her mum was silent for a few moments. Sam takes the opportunity to polish off her own glass. Sam watches as her mum refills both their glasses. The silence remained until her mum finally says, "Lemme tell you something…"

"If it's about my father, then I don't want to hear it." Sam grits her teeth.

"Naw. Why waste my time with that asshole? Listen, listen…" Her mum begins. "Back in high school, I hanged with this guy in freshman year. He wasn't the coolest guy around, and I could easily beat him up. But we were both loners; we had nowhere to go. And I guess he made good company."

Sam finishes off the second glass, her mind growing a bit foggy. "Go on."

"Around Sophomore year I started hanging out with…you know. Those people that hang around the back of the school, smoking pot and all that. One of them, of course, being your father." She shrugs. "I didn't see much of that other guy anymore. And I think he was kinda betrayed."

"I could imagine." Sam murmurs as her mum drains the rest of her glass as well. "Go on."

"Well, got pregnant years later, ended up nowhere. Well, that sounds harsh. But in a way, I guess it's true." She coughs painfully. "Damn. Well, I did wind up seeing that same guy later, and get this: he's doing fine. Married. Has a good life." She pauses, thinking. "It's not as if I wanted to get with him. I'll get with any guy with a pulse these days though. It's just…not sure if stopping talking to him was the right choice."

"What do you think I should do?" Sam asks, her mind a haze.

"Whatever you think is right, I guess. Sam, I can't control what happened to you. You're my daughter, and I apologize for our problems before. But no matter how involved I can possibly get, it won't make a difference. Sorry, angel, but that's just how life is."

"I know." Sam whispers. "I didn't think it'd suck that much."

"Well, it does, and it always will." Her mum shrugs. "Now, come on then. This bottle isn't going to finish itself."

(Gibby's Turn)

Gibby decides that the use of "POV" is too mainstream, so he'll use "Turn" instead. It's always been a dream of his to be a hipster, but he doesn't think he'll make the cut. Oh well.

He is about to walk into the Shay Loft, but stops short. He hears Freddie and Carly's voice through the door, and he looks through the peephole.

The two were huddled by the computer, looking at it intently. Their backs were turned to Gibby.

"Well, what do you think of him?" Freddie asks.

"He looks decent…" Carly says warily.

"Well, how do you think we go about doing this?" Freddie says rustily.

"I don't know. I feel…dirty for doing this." Carly admits.

"Well, you're the one who made Sam go out with the scumsack in the first place—"

"Bag."

"Bag."

Gibby opens the door, entering in with his signature "Gibbayyyyyyyy.". The two brunettes whip around, their eyes widening.

"H-Hi, Gibby!" Carly gasps, quickly closing the window on her computer. "What do you need?"

"…What's going on here?" Gibby can't help but ask.

"Nothing really. Just looking up some people on Facebook." Freddie gives Gibby a reassuring smile, and now Gibby knows for sure that something is up. Freddie has zero poker face. Isn't the best liar. Hopeless romantic. It goes on and on. But… he just lied to straight to Gibby's face. It's almost as if he adopted the trait from someone else…

"I just heard you say something about…Zack, I believe?" Gibby says, thinking of Sam's boyfriend and how Carly got them together.

"I don't know what you mean." Freddie stares at Gibby with hard eyes.

Gibby hears footsteps run down the staircase, and he turns to see Spencer scramble down the stairs. "Gibby! Gibby, I need to talk to you!"

"Gibbayyyyyyyy!" Gibby runs up the stairs until both he and Spencer arrive to the hallway beside the iCarly studio.

Spencer's shaking from head to toe, and he grips Gibby's shoulders. "The guy who keeps texting us agreed to meet us?"

"What? No way!" Gibby gasps.

"We're going to meet at this address." Spencer shows Gibby the text. "Now we'll finally know who this guy is!"

"We're going to meet him at some private address?" Gibby says slowly. "Isn't that a little…dangerous?"

"We have to do it." Spencer says. "My hair is falling out just thinking about it!"

"We leave now?" Gibby says.

"Yup." Spencer says, walking into the elevator.

"Are we gonna kill him?" Gibby asks.

"Nah." Spencer replies. "Just severely maim."


	7. Chapter 7

(Spencer's POV)

Spencer drives Gibby to the address. "You remembered the address by heart?" Gibby raises his eyebrows.

"No. I plugged it into this GPS." Spencer holds it up. "I found it outside."

"Wow, the price tag says six dollars!" Gibby observes, looking impressed.

"I didn't buy it. I found it outside of a car." Spencer says.

_"Recalculating."_ The GPS's monotone voice says. Then finally, _"Recalculating. TURN RIGHT NOW."_

Spencer almost immediately jerks the wheel around. Gibby lets out a high-pitched wail as they turn sharply to the right. Once back straight on the road, both their chests were heaving.

"Well," Gibby snaps. "That was pleasant."

"Probably should have taken the motorcycle." Spencer says. "This is Carly's car."

"You nearly kil—" Gibby begins, but the GPS interrupts him.

_"Turn left in five feet."_

Spencer had no choice but to do a repeat performance. The entire time, Gibby made this moaning sound. Gibby takes the GPS and promptly throws it out of the car.

"Gibby!" Spencer protests. "Why did you do that?"

"I'm about to vomit!" Gibby groans.

"Just wait. I think we're close…" Spencer says, looking outside his window.

Gibby looks out the window as well. Spencer glances backward and sees that Gibby is narrowing his eyes. "What do you see?"

"We're close to Troubled Waters…" Gibby trails off.

"I know. Me and Socko used a tracker and it led us here. But then it cut off." Spencer says. "I think we're here…"

Spencer slipped out of the car. He grips his pants pocket, knowing that he brought a knife with him. Gibby comes up behind him, carrying a toilet cleaner.

Spencer stops and gives Gibby an exasperated look. "Dude."

Gibby puts his arms out. "Hey, Carly told me that you use a duster to get rid of criminals!"

"That's different! That actually works! What do you expect to do with that?" Spencer gestures toward the toilet brush.

Gibby holds it up. "Do you want to be touched with this?"

"Touché." Spencer says.

They continue walking, against the buildings. Spencer hears his phone ring, and he lifts it up to his face. One new text, from guess who?

"Look, he texted me." Spencer says to Gibby. They cluster together and read the text.

"_Go down that alleyway to your left in about five feet."_

"Woah, woah, down an alleyway?" Gibby's eyes widen. "Come on. This could be really bad."

Spencer would have used his knife, but instead, he takes out his duster. "Let's do this."

They step into the alleyway. Gibby hides behind Spencer and slowly nudges him along. Spencer whips his head around. "Get the toilet brush out. We need back-up."

They continue to walk down the darkness. Spencer wishes he brought a flashlight, but he doesn't have one at the moment. Holding his breath, he keeps walking until—

"Stop."

The voice was flimsy and awkward. Even after one word, Spencer realizes that the voice sounds familiar. Not like a voice that you used to hear often, like a passed grandfather or something, but a voice you hear only a few times. Maybe only in a dream.

"Who's there?" Spencer demands.

"Me." The voice says again. Spencer cannot make out the figure in the darkness. "Hi."

Spencer looks up and sees the moon above them. "Step out into the moonlight so we can see you."

"Can't do that." The man says. His voice's tone goes up and down in an unusual way. "Well? What do you need?"

"Why do you keep texting us?" Gibby asks.

"And why—" Spencer begins.

"Wait, wait." The man says. "This isn't quite fair. I've asked you questions, but you haven't answered any of them."

"What questions? You mean the one about Mrs. Benson?" Spencer raises his eyebrows.

"That's right." The man says.

"She lives right next to him." Gibby says, gesturing toward Spencer. "Why do you need to see her?"

"Oh, that's classified." The man chuckles.

Spencer takes a step closer, but almost immediately the man recoils. "Not a step closer. Even if you tried anything, half of my body cannot be harmed."

"What are you talking about?" Gibby demands.

"I can't believe you two don't remember." The man scoffs. Then he stops to think. "Wait. You said Mrs. Benson lives next to you?"

"Yeah…" Spencer trails off.

"That's not what I remember." The man makes a noise, as if confused. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, here's a picture." Gibby looks through his Pearphone.

Spencer puts a hand on Gibby's shoulder. "Wait. You have a picture of Mrs. Benson on your phone?"

Gibby looks exasperated. "Uh, yeah. Duh."

_Better not question it,_ Spencer thinks to himself.

"Here." Gibby says, holding his phone out. "See it?"

For a heartbeat, the light illuminates the man's face. Spencer couldn't make out any facial details, but he could see the man's skinny body as he leaps away.

"Get the light away!" He snaps. "I can see from here."

"Jeez, alright." Gibby mutters.

The man studies the picture for not even a half-second. "That's not Mrs. Benson!" The man hisses. "Not even close!"

Spencer looks at the picture. Sure enough, his neighbor was staring back at him. "That's her! Who else could Mrs. Benson be?"

"You know her!" The man says. "The abrasive one!"

"What?" Gibby and Spencer say in sync.

"Bro, you aren't making any sense." Spencer says.

Suddenly, some kind of whistle sounds through the air. The man jumps. "I-I gotta go." He gasps.

"Wait!" Spencer calls. "We—"

But the man already ran into the darkness.

(Freddie's POV)

"Carly! Carly!" Freddie doesn't even bother to knock on her door. He scrambles inside, his feet still moving although the rest of him stayed still. "Where are you?"

The Shay Loft was empty. That was a shock, to anyone, really. It's only ten p.m. Surely the Shay Loft should have some activity.

"Carly, Carlayyyyy." Freddie runs up their stairs and gets to her room. He is about to open the door when he hears voices.

"They had to do surgery on your arm?" It was Carly's voice. "That must have been awful!"

"Carly!" Freddie slams open the door. Carly whips around, her hair looking all dolled up despite the time. He can see now that she was video-chatting with some guy.

"Freddie, what are you doing here?" Carly asks through gritted teeth.

"I need to talk to you!" Freddie crosses the room in a few, swift steps. "Um, who's this?"

"This is Andrew." Carly gestures towards the webcam.

"Hey." Andrew gives a slight chuckle and waves.

"Hi, Andrew. What are you two talking about?" Freddie sits down beside Carly and presses his chin to his palm, pretending to look interested.

"Um, well, we were talking about one time turning a baseball game, my arm got—" Andrew begins.

"Bye!" And with that, Freddie shuts off the webcam.

"Freddie!" Carly protests before standing upright. "You shut off my hot guy!"

"Look, listen! I got an idea!" Freddie says with a smile.

"An idea for what?" Carly says warily.

"How to break Sam and Zack up!" Freddie grins.

"Freddie!" Carly says. "You're really going to go that far?"

Freddie pauses, and then says, "Uh-huh."

"It's not right…" Carly murmurs.

"No, it's not." Freddie says simply. "So, do you want to know my plan or not?"

Carly stares at him. "What is it?"

"Look, they're going to see Immortals this Friday." Freddie says, smirking. "So, you know what we're going to do?"

"What? I don't read evil." Carly crosses her arms over her chest.

"We do—" Freddie lowers his voice dramatically. _"—Sabotage."_

"Sabotage?" Carly raises her eyebrows. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah." Freddie shrugs. "It's been done before."

For some reason, Carly can picture a cheating boy and a sadistic girl in a movie theater, looking angry at two guys guided by goodness. She doesn't know where this memory came from, but it's clear as day in her mind.

"Why don't you just…talk to Sam?" Carly suggests.

"You really think that'd change anything?" Freddie scoffs. "I'll talk to her _after_ she's broken up with Zack. Get it?"

"Is this really worth breaking her heart?" Carly asks.

_She broke mine!_ Freddie bites back a furious reply. "She's only been seeing him for, what, two weeks? Come on. Sure, it'll hurt a little. But it doesn't compare."

"What's your plan?" Carly asks.

"Oh, you'll see." Freddie smirks. "But you'll help?"

"I guess…" Carly buries her face in her hands. "I can't believe I'm going to ruin a relationship for my best friend."

"Hey, you tried to break us up before!" Freddie protests.

"Yeah, but…" Carly trails off.

"Trust me." Freddie says. "This plan is foolproof. I don't know who this guy is, really—I mean, sure, I've talked to him on occasion—but I know one thing for sure. He can't handle all of Sam's drama. Or mine. No one can, really. All it'll take is one date to go bad, and he'll be gone. I know it."


	8. Chapter 8

(Sam's POV)

Sam walks with stiff steps as she makes her way to Zack's locker. She stops beside it, drumming her fingers against the cold metal, the other hand holding a water bottle filled with a fruit punch mix. Zack should be here any second now.

She decides that maybe…she should reconsider her relationship with Zack. It really wasn't going anywhere; they only see each other once a day and they haven't even been on a date yet. Sure, they had Immortals to look forward to, but that hasn't even happened yet.

And she keeps thinking about—

"Hey, Sam." Oh, there he is. Sam turns around and sees Zack walking up to her.

"Hi." Sam gives a shaky smile. She was usually as tough as they come, but something about feelings seemed to succumb her. She now knows that emotional pain is off-limits.

She once teased Freddie about how Carly would never love him. But after he broke up with Carly, it showed Freddie in a more mature light. Sam now stuck to inflicting bruises and cuts on the people around her rather than something that would stay in their heart forever. Now that she knows how it feels, it just isn't worth it.

"What's up?" Zack asks. Sam unscrews the cap off the bottle and takes a sip, trying to gain confidence.

"So, look." Sam begins. She tries to make her voice as soft as possible but she's still Sam, so that causes a disruption in herself. "You're…you're a great guy. But I'm thinking that maybe, ya know, we aren't—"

Sam feels a shove from behind. The momentum causes Sam to shift forward, causing the un-lidded water bottle to spill all over Zack's shirt.

"Oh my God!" Sam's eyes widen. The shirt was mostly white, and the drink was red. Sam tries brushing it off with the sleeve of her jacket, but it was already soaked in.

"I-It's okay." Zack says, his arms spread as Sam tries to rid the red away.

"No, it's not." Sam says, feeling anger crash down on her when she realizes that someone is responsible. She whips her head around, but she only catches a glimpse of muzzy, beige hair darting away. There is no time to pursue him, though. "And this is the shirt you got at the Blink 182 concert!"

"Sam, it's okay." Zack says softly.

Sam digs her fingers into her palms. "Whoever shoved me is going to die."

"I said it's cool." Zack insists. "So what were you going to say?"

Sam looks at where the person who pushed her disappeared. She knows it could have been totally incidental, but the instinct inside of her told her that it was intentional. Her gaze darts around, untrusting.

"Nothing." She says. "Nothing at all."

(Carly's POV)

Carly delicately plays with grapes in a bowl. Her hand was growing numb from being pressed to her cheek for so long. She lifts up a grape with the intention of simply dropping it back into the bowl.

The door opens, and Spencer walks in. "Hey kiddo." He says.

"Hi." She says softly.

"What's wrong?" He asks.

She shrugs.

"C'mon, tell me." Her brother persists.

"You know," She says. "The whole situation with Sam and Freddie."

"Oh, yeah." Spencer says. "That."

"I mean, I feel bad." Carly admits. "I mean, I know Sam and Zack aren't really serious yet. So maybe it's not that."

"Maybe it's—" Spencer begins.

"Freddie's a good guy, but this isn't like him. I mean, he's devious at times, he tricked us with Ashley, but to actually ruin a relationship for his best friend is just so out of character."

"Well—"

"And Freddie's Freddie. Even if he still likes Sam, Sam is still his best friend. You don't do that to friends. I wonder what'll happen…"

The door opens and Carly turns her head. She sees Freddie walk inside. He nods to her. "Hi."

"Hi." Carly half-sighs. "How did it go?"

"Did you see any of it?" Freddie asks.

"No…?"

"I got him. Three times."

"What?" Carly's eyebrows rise.

"Sabotage." Freddie repeats. "I managed to get them three times." Then he frowns. "But…I'm not sure."

"What?" Carly asks.

"I'm not sure if it's…you know, right." Freddie just shrugs. "You know."

"You know," Spencer says. "Maybe you should—"

"I mean, I get it. She's my friend n' all. But it's not like her and Zack are like, totally in love or anything. But, sabotage? How childish can you get?"

"I hear you, I hear you." Carly says, nodding.

Spencer says, "You could always—"

"But every time I see together, I just…I don't know. I lose it." Freddie grips the counter hard with his fingers. "It's like I've never felt this way before."

_Aww,_ Carly feels that word burn in her mind.

"What if you—" Spencer begins.

"And I'm dragging others into it, too. I dragged you, Carly, and I know you want nothing to do with this. I dragged Brad—I made him shove Sam into Zack; that was one of the sabotages. I even have Gibby helping me, and that's a shock." Freddie presses his hand to his forehead. "What's happening to me?"

"Or you can—"

"Maybe you should reconsider," Carly says gently. "Just leave Sam alone with this. You never know; she might break up with him on her own."

"You're right." Freddie says softly. "This was a far-fetched plan as it was."

There was a brief silence.

"Well now that you all—" Spencer begins.

"What will you do now?" Carly asks Freddie.

"Wait." He says roughly. "That's all I can do."

There was a sound of footsteps outside the door. Freddie whips his head around to Carly. "It could be Sam!"

"So?" Carly blinks up at him.

"Just," Freddie leaps up and runs up the stairs. A few seconds after he was out of view, Sam came whirling in.

"Carls, we need to talk." Sam says as she storms in.

"Hi, S—" Spencer begins.

"Talk about what?" Carly asks. "What's up?"

"Look, something weird is going on." Sam says hastily. "And something bad."

"What do you mean?" Carly bites her tongue as she lies.

Sam stops and stares at Carly. "I think someone is like…messing with me and Zack."

"You don't say—" Spencer begins.

"I mean, someone shoved me and made me spill a drink all over him, and then later, the space around my locker was coated in water and we slipped. And then his own locker was all beaten up!" Sam says, her hands balling into little white fists. "Someone's playing dirty, and I want to know who."

"Couldn't possibly be—"

"Maybe it's all just a coincidence." Carly says softly. "You're paranoid. Nothing's wrong."

Spencer looks at Sam and begins to say, "Or it could be—"

"I know, Carly. But still." Sam begins to pace. "I think it's Gibby. Because remember how he tried to break me and Freddie up? He could be doing it again."

"But then you ripped out part of Gibby's hair for it." Carly says. "I doubt he'd try to double-cross you again."

Sam looks up at Carly. "Zack thinks it's Freddie." She mutters. "Says it makes sense, since it wasn't too long ago since we dated."

"You'd be surpr—" Spencer begins.

"But you know, it isn't that far-fetched." Sam looks away, blinking. "He was really pissed at me the other day, but I don't know why."

"You think Freddie would do that to you?" Carly hopes that Freddie was still listening, and that some of this hit home.

"You know I don't." Sam murmurs. "I trust him."

"At the same time—" Spencer begins.

"But Zack doesn't. He thinks that I should just stay away from Freddie, because 'clearly' he's starting things. But Freddie's already avoiding me as it is." Sam crosses her arms over her chest, looking angry.

"Zack wants you to stay away from Freddie?" Carly echoes. She sneaks a glance towards the stairway. Freddie was watching, his head hooked around the corner, his fingers holding the edge. She watches as his fingers tighten as he stares at Sam intensely. How is he taking this…?

"Yeah, I know. It's weird. But he seems really annoyed with Freddie." Sam looks at the ground. "What do you suggest I do?"

"You can—" Spencer begins.

"Try talking it out. Tell him that it's unreasonable." Carly says gently. "He can't guard you from the world."

"He couldn't if he tried." Sam's fingers gripped around her pockets. "Later, Carls." She walks out the door.

A few moments later, Freddie came storming down the stairs. Carly starts toward him. "Freddie—"

"Plan's back on." He says without turning his head or looking at her, and then he walks out of the apartment, slamming the door shut.

Carly's shoulders slumped. They were _so_ close…

"So, anyway, I think—" Spencer begins.

"Now what are we going to do?" Carly asks in defeat.

"I give up." Spencer says as he walks away.


	9. Chapter 9

**(A/N: I just learned how to insert a line into a document…yay!)**

(Gibby's Turn)

Seriously. Don't you think that Gibby could pull of the rockin' hipster look? Flannel, beanie hat, silver sunglasses. Always carrying a record player. Sir, have you ever heard of the Fleet Foxes? No, of course, you probably haven't heard of them.

Well, a Gibby can dream, can't he?

**(A/N: I don't think he could… Hipsters would reject him soooooooo fast XD)**

Things have been chill for Gibby, at least. The mysterious texter has not bothered him for a few days. It sorta bothers him in a way. What was the point of it? Surely there was a reason for it all…

Gibby wanders up to the Shay Apartment. He opens the door, and of course projects his signature _"Gibbayyyyy"_.

Only Spencer was there. "Hey Gib." He says.

"Hi Spencer." Gibby says. "Where's Carly?"

"She's—" He suddenly stops, and stares at Gibby intensely. After a few seconds, he says, "She's with Sam, I think."

"Well, okay." Gibby glances at Spencer. "Well, then. So, have you heard from the guy?"

"Not a thing." Spencer says. "Thank God."

"What do you think happened to him?" Gibby asks. "Those guys who were after him…"

"Huh…" Spencer looks off into space. "I don't know."

"Maybe—" But then Gibby is cut off by his Pearphone vibrating. Cringing, he pulls his phone out, knowing who it was. As he opens it up, he was right.

_I'm gonna tell you this one last time. The fate of the entire world now rests in your hands. You, and the loud one too. This is super cereal. Please, just tell me the location of Mrs. Benson._

"But I don't know where she is!" Gibby wails aloud. "It isn't fair!"

Spencer runs a hand through his short, dark hair. "I don't get it either. We already told him where she is, and apparently, it's not the right person."

"And we even showed a picture. Why does he need to find her anyway?" Gibby asks.

But Spencer is looking off into space. "Wait a minute."

Gibby looks over at him.

"Let me read the text again." Spencer takes the phone from him and reads it.

"What?" Gibby looks at him.

"He says he wants to know where Mrs. Benson is, right?" Spencer asks slowly.

"Uh-huh." Gibby nods.

Spencer slowly holds the phone up. "Ms. Benson isn't married."

Gibby stares at him. "What?"

"Gibby, Mr. Benson and Ms. Benson divorced long before I met her and Freddie." Spencer explains slowly. "That means that he's looking for some other Benson."

"But who?" Gibby asks plaintively. "It's not like we know all of Freddie's family."

Spencer is silent for a while. Finally he says, "Who was that guy?"

Gibby tips his head to one side.

"We've seen him before. But where?" Spencer has a thinking face. "I know we didn't see him that well, but I know I've seen him somewhere."

Gibby thinks. Spencer did have a point. But he can't think of the time he actually saw the man. It's almost as if he's seen him in a dream.

Gibby takes his phone back and begins to send another text.

"What are you texting?" Spencer asks.

"Look," Gibby shows Spencer the words he typed up.

_Just tell us what Ms. Benson looks like. Then we can help you._

Spencer nods curtly. "That'll work."

They wait a bit, waiting for a response. Gibby rubs his hand against his temple. "This is scary."

"I don't think he's a killer or anything." Spencer shrugs.

"I've never had a stalker before." Gibby admits.

"I have." Spencer chuckles. "There was this one girl who kept showing up at this very apartment."

"I kinda remember that…" Gibby says. "Why did she stalk you?"

"Because she claims that every time I tried to break up with her was simply a dream, and every time I tried to explain it to her again, she claimed that was a dream too." Spencer just shakes his head.

**(A/N: TRUE STORY BRO.)**

The phone vibrates. Gibby quickly opens up the text and reads it.

_Blonde. Blue eyes. Abrasive. You know her!_

The two guys stare at the text for several seconds.

"…There's no way." Gibby blurts out.

"How could it be her?" Spencer says. "Her last name isn't Benson. And she isn't married."

"…unless…" Gibby trails off.

Silence.

* * *

><p>(Sam's POV)<p>

Sam leaves Carly's side and she walks up to Zack. She glances backward, just to be sure that Carly was out of earshot.

"Zack," Sam steps up.

He turns around. "Oh. Hi."

Sam stares straight at him. "Freddie didn't do it."

"How do you know that?" Was his only reply.

"I just do." Sam glares at Zack. "I know it. Can't you trust me on this?"

"It's not that I don't trust you." Zack runs his fingers through his blondish hair. "But it's really weird, you know?"

"Look, I know, and I know for a fact that Freddie didn't do it." Sam clears her throat. "Look, tomorrow's Friday. And I'll prove it to you. Nothing weird is happening."

Zack stares at Sam for a long while. Finally he says, "Okay. We'll see."

"We will." Sam turns away and walks to Carly. They walk out of the hallway and to their lockers.

"How did it go?" Carly demands.

"We're giving Friday another try. But after that…dunno." Sam shrugs. "In all actuality, I'm starting to wonder if this is all worth it."

"What do you mean?" Carly asks.

"I don't think seeing him is a good idea." Sam looks over at where Zack had walked away.

Carly just stares at Sam. "Go on."

"I mean, we aren't really going anywhere. And…" Sam stares at the ground. "There's another thing."

"What?"

The brunette boy flashes in front of her eyes, and she says to Carly, "…Nothing. Well, what do you think I should do."

Carly looks uncomfortable. "I…I don't know."

"What?" Is all Sam is able to say.

Carly just stares back. Sam sees a trace of panic in her eyes.

"You're Carly." Sam stares at her friend. "You always know what to say in these situations. You don't know what I should do?"

"…I just think I need to keep myself out of it." Carly chokes out before turning around and walking off quickly.

Sam looks around with confusion. She can only form one clear thought.

_Is everyone insane around here?_


	10. Chapter 10

**(A/N: The pranks inflicted on Sam and Zack are rather K+…I tried to keep it that way since I'm picturing this as an actual episode, you know? [Despite le swearing :3] Oh, and I got a lot of them from Drake and Josh, so…)**

(Carly's POV)

"It's go time." Freddie's voice whispers in her ear.

Carly closes her eyes tightly. "But…"

"You have to." Freddie's eyes were full of desperation. "Please."

"I can't hurt Sam this way."

"You already told me, Carly! You said that she's starting to lose interest in Zack." Freddie snaps.

"Freddie, listen." Carly half-begs. "Sam won't be upset because of Zack. She'll be upset because you did this to her."

"She won't find out." Freddie breathes. "As long as you don't tell."

"Freddie! She trusts you! She claims that it wasn't you! If you stop now, then no one gets hurt, and I promise you, I'll never breathe a word."

"I'm not trying to hurt Sam. I never did! I'm getting back at Zack." Carly watches Freddie grip the edge of their hiding place roughly. "You don't tell people who they can or cannot talk to."

"Freddie, when Sam changed your application," Carly says roughly. "You were pissed. It's basically the same thing. They are both sabotage."

"Yes, sabotage." The light in Freddie's eyes shadows. "But I forgave her, didn't I?"

"Will she forgive you?" Carly asks softly.

"Probably not. So let's not say anything." Freddie repeats.

Carly looks away.

"Let's do this," Freddie says.

They get up from behind their spot. "Is she in there?" Carly asks.

"Yes, I saw her go through." Freddie walks inside the theater. "What movie are they seeing?"

"Immortals." Carly responds. "I'm pretty sure."

"Now, we gotta wait for Kimberly." Freddie leans against the wall.

"Who?" Carly blinks.

"Oh, the girl I got to help us out. I got some other people too. But she's first." Freddie stares through the window. "There she is!"

An taller blonde girl walks through. Carly raises her eyebrows. She looks like she walked right out of a model magazine. "Her?"

"Hey Kim." Freddie smiles. "You ready?"

"What exactly do you want me to do?" Kim asks.

"Look at this picture." Carly cringes as Freddie pulls out his phone and shows Kim a picture of Zack. "See this guy? Go over in Theater 8 and start flirting the hell out of him."

"Why?" Kim blinks.

"Freddie…" Carly says warily. She wonders if Sam would attack this girl, but she doubts it. She may get threatened.

"Just do it, okay?" Freddie says to Kim. "And I'll pay you later."

"I guess…" Kim walks away, and goes into Theater 8.

"And what is that going to accomplish?" Carly growls to Freddie.

"It all depends on whether or not Zack takes her up on the offer." Freddie paws through his wallet. "Shit. I don't have enough money to pay the other two."

"Who are the other two?" Carly asks.

"We saw them at Webicon." Freddie says, his eyes narrowed as he looks through the people. "Hmm… Oh, wait. I think I see them!"

Carly spots two people who can only be described as nerds. "Oh my God. _Those two?_"

"I had no other choice!" Freddie protests.

The two nerds approach them, and Freddie dips his head. "Craig. Eric."

"Are you two dating yet?" Craig asks, looking at Carly and Freddie.

Carly glares at him. "Far from it. Are you going to help us or not?"

"Now what exactly do you want us to do?" Eric asks.

"Just go in there and cause some kind of disturbance. I don't care what you do—just don't get kicked out right away. Okay?" Freddie says.

"Freddie, wait." Carly half-wails. "Please, just stop this. What if—"

She is interrupted by a coughing sound. Both her and Freddie turn and see Kim stumbling back. It's clear that Sam has assaulted her with popcorn.

"You're paying me double." Kim hisses at Freddie before walking away.

"See what you're doing?" Carly snaps at Freddie. "Now other people are getting hurt. You need to stop this!"

* * *

><p>(Spencer's POV)<p>

Spencer and Gibby sit, tensely. "What should we do?" Gibby asks Spencer. "Should we give her location?"

"I don't think this man's a killer." Spencer says thoughtfully. "He could have killed us when we met him, and he didn't."

"But he may be mentally challenged." Gibby murmurs. "I mean, we did see him by Troubled Waters."

"We probably shouldn't tell him where she is then." Spencer mutters.

"But still…" Gibby says. "He hasn't stopped bothering us. It must be really important."

"What do you think it is?" Spencer asks. "And why is he calling her Mrs. Benson?"

Gibby looks away, as if he was thinking. "I need some soup."

"There's some in the pantry." Spencer says, sighing.

Spencer continues to think as Gibby slides away from the table. If only he knew why, then he could help the man out. But do you haggle with someone like him?

"Where is she, anyway?" Spencer asks.

Gibby comes back over, eating his soup with a fork. "She's seeing a movie with some guy."

"Huh." Spencer says. "Maybe we could—"

His phone vibrates. Silently, without breathing, he reads the text.

_"Just tell me where Mrs. Benson is and this'll all be over!"_

Gibby reads the text silently. He nods to Spencer.

"Do it."

"But…" Spencer swallows and composes himself. He slowly types it up.

_"Valleyedge Movie Theater."_

"Well," Spencer says slowly. "It's out of our hands now."

* * *

><p>(Sam's POV)<p>

"What the fuck was that?" She hisses at Zack. "Who was she?"

"I don't kn—"

"Bullshit! She said that she was your girlfriend! Who is she?" Sam's glad that the movie hasn't started and hardly anyone was in there. "Are you seeing someone else?"

"No! No, of course not!" Zack stammers. "I have no idea who she was!"

Sam crosses her arms over her chest. "Then why—"

"It's the sabotage again, isn't it?" Zack snaps. "Someone sent her, I bet."

"Now you're just being ridiculous." Sam growls.

"I promise you, I'm not cheating." Zack narrows his eyes. "Did you tell Benson that you'd be here?"

"No, I didn't." Sam spits out. "Quit accusing him."

"Why can't you just consider the fat that maybe—"

"Freddie wouldn't do that to me." Sam says firmly. "Now, I swear, if any other girl comes in here—"

"No one will." Zack says.

Sam sits down, rubbing her head. This was just too crazy. What if Zack was cheating…?

_You can worry about that later,_ she tells herself. She'll talk to Carly about it later. _For now, just relax._

But how can she?

She hears two more people enter the theater. She turns her head and sees two people who can only be described as nerds.

They whisper among themselves, staring at Sam intently. She grips the edge of her seat. "Can I help you two?" She snaps.

They ignore her and slip to the back of the theater. Sam disregards them and turns back to Zack.

"You will explain later." Sam growls.

"But there's nothing to explain!" Zack protests.

Sam looks away, and she can hear the nerds whispering.

"You sure this is gonna work?"

"Of course! Mindy won the Science Fair with this!"

Sam whips her head around. The two nerds are silhouetted by the dim light. She hears a _pffpwp_ sound, and she has barely any time to call out a warning before she is forced against her chair.

"Ah! What the—" Sam begins to say. Her entire upper-body is literally attached to the chair. "What is this?"

She looks over and sees that Zack is dealing with the same problem. Mainly his wrist is attached, and Sam notices that she's mostly being pulled by her neck.

"It's like…a magnet, or something." Zack mutters as he tries to pull loose.

Sam wrenches her neck around and glares at the two nerds. "You two are _dead._ Do you hear me? _Dead!_"

The nerds already shuffled out of the theater.

Sam sees that she is strung by the necklace that she was wearing, and Zack was forced by his wristband.

"Wait," Zack says gruffly, whipping his other wrist around that was free and fiddling with the necklace around her neck. Getting it lose, it slips off, and she is free.

"Hold on," Sam tries to get the wristband off, but she can't slip it off since the magnetic pull was tighter. "I can't get it!"

"Just try pulling it up!" Zack suggests.

"It's stuck like glue. There's no other way." Sam fiddles in her pocket for her switchblade.

"Aw, come on." Zack moans. "That's really expensive…"

"We have no other choice." Sam takes her knife and slides through it. It falls off his wrist, still attached to the chair, and Zack rubs his wrist.

He's frowning. "It was over a hundred dollars…"

Sam's eyes widen. "Who would pay that much for that?"

Zack gives her a look that says, _That's-Not-The-Point…_ but Sam ignores him.

"Look, I'm sorry." Sam says. "But I must admit, you may be right. This isn't just coincidences. Something weird is happening—and I want to know what."

"Want to ditch the movie?" Zack asks huskily. "We can track down whoever's doing it."

"No." Sam grips the edges of her seat. This has become a personal battle with whoever is causing all this. She can't wait to confront who's doing this; she'll make sure he doesn't walk again. She's not pissed because they're ruining her and Zack. She's pissed because no one messes with Sam Puckett. No one. She turns to Zack and says, "We're seeing this movie whether our tormentor likes it or not."

* * *

><p>(Unknown POV)<p>

His tire wheels are screeching as he pulls into the parking lot. _Finally, I have you._ He gets out, trembling. It's about time, too.

He grips the money in his pocket. He has to buy a ticket to get in, right? Darn. Oh well, though.

He pages through the tens, wishing he had a penny. For some reason, he has a fondness for pennies. He doesn't know why. Maybe it's from a past life.

He buys a ticket, and goes into the theater. _Where is she?_ He searches all around. More people have filled the theater, and there was a crowd. C'mon. Where is—

He spots her. The blonde girl is sitting next to a blonde boy. She's flicking her hair back nervously, looking back and forth. Oh, yesss. She's right where he wants her.

He approaches her slowly. It's go time.

* * *

><p>(Sam's POV)<p>

Sam looks back and forth, waiting for something to happen. As the theater gets more and more crowded, it becomes harder to tell who will be the next assaulter. Still, no one strikes out.

Sam shifts her shoulders, waiting. How come nothing else has happened? Where's the fire? Where's the problems? How come—

She feels wind pass by, a light-footed man suddenly whisk pass. Before she could even think about turning around, she feels lips drop to her ear and then she hears a whisper.

"I've been looking for you for a while, Mrs. Benson."

Sam turns her head, and she sees a man squalled in front of her. He has wispy brown hair on his head, and he was awkwardly shaped. A thin, lanky body with a perfectly round head.

Sam stares at him. "How can you confuse me for—" She stops, and then her jaw drops. She's surprised it didn't hit the floor. "Oh my God."

The man just stares back with a poker face.

"Caleb!" Sam gasps. "H-How did you, when did you…"

"Mrs. Benson, you're making a big mistake." Caleb says.

Zack turns around. "Sam, who is this?"

Sam ignores Zack and stares straight at Caleb. "What are you doing here?"

"When you got married, it was broadcasted all over the world." Caleb tells her. "I'm super cereal. It got more viewers than the royal wedding! But you made a grave mistake."

"You're crazy." Sam hisses at him. "Go back to the loony bin, will ya?"

"You're insane too."

"Not anym—"

"You are. Because you still feel that way." Caleb says gently.

Sam looks away. "You don't know anything."

"I know everything!" Caleb protests. "I'm from the future!"

"No, you're from a psychiatric ward that serves amazing quesadillas!" Sam flashes back.

"You're still insane." Caleb tells her. "This kind of insanity—it isn't something you can cure with a cream or a pill. When you got it, it was there to stay, darling. Him, too. That's how it is."

"Just go!" Sam snaps.

Caleb lifts his ticket up. "But, I wanna see the movie…It's a very old classic in the future. One of the few movies left that wasn't made in 5D!"

"Leave!" Sam snarls.

"You can try to avoid it, but you won't. It's only a matter of time before he calls you back—"

Sam attempts to spring at him, but she feels Zack's arms grip her shoulder, keeping her restrained. For some reason, that's the spark of something that has been building up for awhile.

She whips around, and hisses at Zack. "Don't touch me!" Before he can respond, she turns to Caleb again. "You're mental. You always have been. You aren't from the future! And you don't know a damn thing!"

"I didn't spend so much time trying to find you just for this!" Caleb protests. "I'll get my job done if it's the last thing I do!"

Sam just stares at him, fists trembling.

"You both are insane. And he'll be in here any moment."

"What?" Sam can't help but choke out.

"I told you. I already know what happens here. You'll see soon enough." He gives a tiny smile before slinking away, down to the far corner of the theater.

"We should leave…" Zack says, starting to stand up.

"No, wait." Sam scores the theater with her eyes, searching. "The guy who did it is here. Somewhere."

"Where?"

"I dunno. But he's dead." Sam grits her teeth. "Look around."

"What am I looking for, exactly?" Zack's voice sounds irritated. He's getting annoyed with the whole situation. And so is she.

"I don't know, either." Sam growls. "But the guy who's doing this is here. Let's look."

Sam feels a dreaded feeling in her chest. Something that was imprisoning and horrifying and you know how it is. She doesn't want to see who's doing this. Not even a little. What if it's someone she truly trusted?

She can hear a voice near the back of the theater. Soundlessly, she stands up, and moves towards it. She strains to hear.

"…I'm not paying you unless you go back in there…!" That's an irritated voice. Very familiar, though…

"What? So she can attempt to kill us again?" Another voice snaps.

"Just do it!" Right after the voice says that, the two nerds from before are pushed into view. Sam freezes, her eyes set on them as if they were prey.

"Don't kill us…" One of them murmurs, but Sam is already storming towards them. But she isn't after them. She whips around the corner, ready to see the person who thinks it's cool to sabotage relationships.

She's staring at Freddie Benson.

She takes a step back, her eyes widening. Well, she wasn't expecting him behind there. That's for damn sure. She stares at him, her jaw dropped.

"I…what…_you_?" Is all she can say.

"I…" He stares at her, at a loss for words. Sam's gaze wonders and she sees Carly behind him. Carly, too? Really? They both betrayed her?

She hears movement behind her, and then Zack's voice, "See? I knew it was him!"

Freddie glares at Zack. "Well, good job. Would you like a medal?"

"No," Zack's voice was taut. "I'm done with this." He turns to Sam. "You couldn't believe me on this?"

"How was I supposed to know?" Sam says. She looks over at Freddie, and she feels something in her chest snap. "I trusted him."

"Sam, I…" Freddie is interrupted by another person walking from behind them.

"See? I told you it would happen soon." Caleb mocks. He then turns to Carly. "Oh, look, it's the V.P.!"

"Wait…" Freddie stares at Caleb. "Is that the guy we met at Troubled Waters?"

_"Who cares who he is?"_ Sam hisses, making them all jump. "I can't believe you would do this to me!" She says to Freddie.

"Look," Zack says slowly. "I've had my fair share of crazy…but this is starting to get a little dysfunctional, even for me."

"That's not what your great granddaughter said." Caleb mutters.

Zack swings his head around. "What?"

"Look, if things are so Goddamn tough, then leave." Sam snarls. She doesn't care anymore. "Go."

Zack stares at her for a moment, before stepping away and walking out, shaking his head.

"Tell your great granddaughter to call me!" Caleb calls after him.

Sam turns to Freddie. "Why?" Is all she says.

"Sam…"

"Why must you always do this to me? Look, I know I used to try and make your life hell, but that was a while ago. Why do you have to keep doing this?" Sam wails. She feels herself coming close to crying but she knows she actually won't.

Carly steps up. "Sam, listen—"

"No! No, I'm done listening! You helped him! I thought we were friends." She rakes her gaze over to Freddie. "And I thought I could trust you."

"Sam, I did it for a reason." Freddie swallows.

"Yeah, sure. I already know your reason. You're trying to get revenge on me for something I didn't do! Or maybe it's just pure sadism." Sam stares at him. "Well, fine, then. You got your revenge."

"I didn't mean it like that! I wasn't trying to get revenge!" Freddie protests.

"Yeah, right!" Sam snarls. "And I don't care anymore. You've done enough. Unless you aren't finished yet. Got anything else up your sleeve?"

Freddie closes his eyes briefly. He opens them again and says, "No. You're right. I went too far this time."

Sam stares at him, not knowing what to say.

"It's my fault. I get that." He breathes in a ragged breath. "I…I won't bother you anymore."

With small, stiff steps, he walks past Sam and out of the theater, not meeting her eyes.

Sam stands there, not knowing what to say.

"I guess The Royal Wedding will be back up as the number one wedding." Caleb mutters.

**(A/N: There should only be one more chapter after this :3)**


	11. Chapter 11

(Sam's POV)

Her blood is still boiling, so she doesn't even notice Carly shaking her shoulder until she speaks.

"Sam!" Carly snaps. "Do you have any idea what you've done?"

Sam whirls on her "friend", her eyes full of bitterness. "What I've done? You're the one who betrayed me. I thought we were friends here!"

"We are!" Carly protests. "Sam, you gotta listen—"

"No! No, I'm done listening! Friends don't go around and sabotage relationships!"

"Sam, you weren't even that into Zack! Don't pull that card." Carly growls.

"It doesn't fucking matter, Carly!" Rage was overcoming her now. "I could have been dating _Gibby_ for hell's sake, and I still wouldn't want you to do a damn thing about it! Friends don't ruin things for others!"

"Sam, we did it for a reason." Carly says tightly.

"Well, good for you. Cuz I don't want to hear it." Sam turns away.

"Let the vice president speak." Caleb says coolly.

"And you!" Sam whirls on him. "You. Are. Crazy."

"I like to use the words, 'mentally handicapped'." Caleb corrects.

"Sam, just listen for like two seconds." Carly half-begs. "Please."

She glares at her friend. "Let's hear it."

"Now, Sam, this is gonna sound hard to bel—"

"Okay, you're done." Sam cuts her off.

"But you said—"

"I said two seconds." Sam points out. "Now stop."

Carly's hands shoot to Sam's shoulders, something Sam didn't expect. "Freddie broke up you two for a reason!"

"Yeah." Sam says coldly, feeling something tear inside her. "He sure did. Because he hates me, and—"

"He did it because he misses you!" Carly almost screams.

Caleb delicately plays with his fingernails. "Told you so…"

Sam stops, not knowing what to think, and then narrows her eyes. "Nice try. You don't need to lie to—"

"I'm not lying!" Carly protests. "This whole thing was done just so you're single again, and so he can sleep at night!"

"That doesn't even make any sense!" Sam says, her arms crossed. "He hates me, right? We both knew that…"

"That's what I thought, too. But it isn't true." Carly says softly.

Sam can feel Caleb breathing down her neck. Sam whips around. "Can I help you?"

"Listen to the brunette." He says matter-of-factly. "She speaks the truth."

Sam looks back at Carly. "I'm not buying it." She says with a tremor in her voice.

"Then look." Carly pulls out her Pearphone and hands it to Sam. "Read all of the texts he's sent me in the past week. You'll see."

Sam's eyes fall upon every single message he wrote, and she swears she can hear something crack inside of her.

"See?" Carly says. "There it is."

Sam hands her back her phone. "I…"

"Go find him." Caleb suggests.

"Okay." Sam growls. "I'll do that, and you can go lumber on to Troubled Waters."

"Sounds like a plan, Mrs. Benson." Caleb pats Sam's shoulder, and she doesn't yell at him for calling her that. "Tell Zack's great granddaughter to call me, okay?"

Carly stares at Caleb. "You look like Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory."

Caleb stares back. "You look like Megan from Drake & Josh."

They simply stare at each other for five more seconds before Caleb turns around and walks away.

Carly steps closer to Sam, and Sam looks away. "What if it's another trick?"

"Sam, we both know that Freddie doesn't prank you like you prank him." Carly says gently. "And I swear, it's true."

"Then what do I do?"

"What do you want to do?"

Sam is silent for a moment, then says. "Beat the shit out of him for all of this."

Carly chuckles a bit. "It's so easy to tell when you're lying."

"Yeah, well." Sam begins to walk away, and looks back with a knowing look. "Not really. Because if that were true, you would have known my opinion this entire time." And she walks away.

* * *

><p>(Freddie's POV)<p>

He tried to go to the most predictable spot. He knows Sam like the back of his hand. He knows that if she were to find him, she would try looking in all the spots that he would never be. She'd think that he'd planned to go somewhere where he never goes. But he beat her at this—he goes to the most predictable place while she's out searching in Narnia.

Oh, who is he kidding?

Sam isn't looking for him. Why would she? She's probably out sticking pin needles in a Freddie voodoo doll. Why would she ever come back for him? He was always so used to having to chase after people. He remembers chasing after Carly when they were in Middle School. But no—not anymore. He guesses he must have got accustomed to the thought that Sam would come back for him.

Not this time.

He sits in his predictable spot, not even bothering to put the music on. He stares at his pearphone, and waits for Carly to call him, saying she was "oh-so sorry" that it had to happened this way, and etc., etc., etc.

He stares out at the night sky before closing his eyes and throwing his head back, letting out a sigh.

"Very predictable, Benson."

He jumps at the sound of a husky, sarcastic voice, and turns to look at her.

"I mean, really? The fire escape? I knew what you were doin'. You were gonna use reverse psychology, weren't you? Well, I did it on you too. And now here we are."

Freddie opens his mouth to say something, but no words form.

She steps up, sitting beside the door like she had when she came, years ago. "Anything?"

"I-I'm sorry." He gets out. "Sam, I really didn't mean for it to end this w—"

"Carly told me." Is all she says.

"Oh." Freddie runs a hand through his hair. _Dammit!_ Now how is he gonna sneak away to Canada?

"But…but is she right?" Sam asks. Freddie looks over at her and sees that her eyes are full of confusion.

Freddie is silent for a while, before saying, "Yep."

Silence.

"A-And you can do whatever." He says hastily. "It's all good. I deserve it."

"Freddie—"

"No, I'm serious. Look, you've done a lot to me over the years, and I took it without a blink. And yet I'm still here. So it's your job to do something so terrible that it'll snap me out of it." Freddie blinks, as if he doesn't understand the words coming out of his mouth. "Wait, that doesn't make any sense."

"Just—"

"Alright, here, let me re-word it. I'm sorry I hurt you. And because of that, you can do whatever you want with me. You know? You can humiliate me live on iCarly, or you could ruin my future, or—"

In his mindless ranting, he hadn't noticed Sam had inched closer and closer. In one swift movement, her hands go to his collar and he's pretty sure that she's about to throw him off of the building until she presses her lips against him.

She pulls away after four seconds and says with a smirk, "First off, you said I can do whatever I want with you."

He stares at her, bewildered. Did what just happened _really_ just happen?

"Second, you had the chance to humiliate me on iCarly, and you didn't."

"I couldn't." He chokes out.

"Third, I almost ruined your future, and you didn't care."

"You fixed it in the end…"

"And fourth, if you were dating someone, I would've done the same thing." She finishes.

"But—"

"Just stop trying to contradict it!" Sam snaps. "Let's face it. I've hurt you and you've hurt me. We're even."

"I never stopped." Freddie manages to get out.

"What?"

"I said I never stopped." He repeats. "Even if we tried to forget about it, I never forgot about what I said to you when we broke up. And then seeing you with Zack…I just…I don't know."

Sam stares at him. "And you think I didn't stop?"

"You were dating Zack!"

"Yes, because what would be the point of chasing after someone who'd never consider you again?" Sam glares at him. "What would be the point of liking someone who've you hurt, emotionally and physically, for so long?"

"And what would be the point of pursuing someone who was taken?" Freddie counters. "What would be the point of wanting the one person who's been the main subject of terror ever since 6th grade? What would be the point of liking someone who doesn't go for your type?"

They both look at each other, before Sam says, "So…where do we stand?"

"You know where I stand." Freddie says softly. "I've been standing there for so long. But tell me. Are we at the same place?"

Sam simply responds by kissing him again, and Freddie pulls her closer. He pans back to this morning. Waking up, and planning for action. There were a lot of ways his plan could have went, but not this way. Definitely not this way. But who's complaining?

"I never stopped." Sam says as she pulled away. "And…And I'm sorry. For all of this."

"This is going to sound really odd." Freddie sits up. "I…I never said those three words again."

"What?"

"When my mother told me that she…you know…L-O-V-E-D me, I couldn't say it back." Freddie half-whispers. "I literally couldn't get myself to say those words to anyone."

"Now that you've mentioned it…" Sam says, sitting beside him, looking confused. "I haven't said it either."

They look at each other.

"I love you." He says, his eyes widening when he realizes how easily it rolled off his tongue, unlike other times.

"I love you too." She replies, and she has the same look. Freddie says nothing back, only pulls her close and kisses her again. Damn. And he was really afraid that this would never happen again.

"I'm sorry this went on for so long." She murmurs against his lips.

It's funny how in the last hour, Sam managed to make him forget about all that's happened to him before. She had a funny way of doing that. "Doesn't matter anymore." He whispers back, pulling her closer.

His Pearphone had vibrated, and he pulls it out and moves it away. The movement causes the shuffle to play (there are just so many bugs with that thing) and both of them smile when their song comes on.

"Did you make it happen?" Sam asks, pulling away and pointing at the tiny speaker in-which _Running Away_ was playing out of.

"Nope." He shakes his head with a smile. They exchange one last smirk before pressing together once again, listening to the music that almost echoed in the quiet air.

**(A/N: And that's it. Boom.**

**I liked writing this at times. I'll miss it, but I don't see how it could go on any further. I could make a sequel, but nah. It would just be a whole different plot, and the events of this story would somewhat be irrelevant. And I got my hands full with other stories as well.**

**Well, ttyl. I hope this made some of you happy—I am well aware that there are some pretty bitter Bade fans stomping around out here. I'm so sorry that Dan Schneider fucked over another couple for you guys. Losing both Bade and Seddie must be bitter. Good thing I'm not a Bade fan; it's not that I don't support it, I just don't care about them :X)**


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